TWC Boosts Closed-Captioning

The Weather Channel said Friday that it will caption 21 hours of regular programming per day beginning Oct. 1.

The network and closed-captioning company VITAC will also provide captioning for breaking weather-emergency broadcasts sent to local affected areas as part of TWC's WeatherStar system.

TWC said it will exceed the number of hours the Federal Communications Commission requires networks to caption.

“We deliver information that helps people prepare for and understand the weather and how it may affect their lives,” TWC Cos. president Debora Wilson said in a prepared statement. “There are millions of Americans who are deaf and hard-of-hearing, and we are fully committed to bringing them ready access to the reliable, expert weather information that consumers expect from The Weather Channel.”